Entertainment

Last.fm on your Home Stereo: Phase II from Logitech

Building from its announcement earlier this year that Last.fm would be teaming up with Logitech for scrobbling on Logitech's Squeezebox, the next step in this partnership is the ability to access Last.fm streaming music for your home sound system, using the Logitech Duet, Squeezebox Classic or the Transporter network music systems.

This takes Last.fm content further away from the computer and into other devices that are known for better sound quality. It's something many people had already done in the past; hooking up the computer to the home stereo system to listen to CDs or play games with surround sound. And an entire marketplace has cropped up around the iPod, which isn't locked into your PC isn't easily connected to home stereo systems without some third party devices.

In the same way that songs have journeyed through record players, tape decks, Walkmans and iPods, the web-based music phenomenon will also need to continue to better enable multi-device support. Rhapsody is pushing similar initiatives with its web-based music service, having spread access to its content across social media and music-centric networks, TiVo and other much broader plans for multi-device support.

Much of the growth towards a better synced music and media experience is still bound by the woes of traditional media distribution and monetization, a lack of standards across devices and overall corporate sludge. But the service that can manage to get some of the better deals for cross-device promotion and communication will likely be a leader in whatever standards do come about. As Last.fm is now owned by, CBS, a standing force within the traditional media sector, there's a good chance for Last.fm to become increasingly prominent and benefit from ample opportunities for multi-device support.

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